pstack for Codex
简体中文 · Runtime mapping · Credits and licenses
An unofficial Codex adaptation of Lauren Tan's pstack, built from the cstack Claude Code port. It packages 47 engineering skills, 23 poteto-mode playbooks, and the original pstack icon. It excludes the separate cstack-benny Slack automation plugin.
The portable plugin.json makes the package discoverable by hosts supporting the Agent Plugins format. The instructions and tool calls target Codex; other AI agents need a separate runtime adapter. This is not an official Cursor, Claude Code, or OpenAI release.
Install
You need a current Codex CLI or desktop app. Bun is needed only when a selected poteto-mode playbook runs its bundled TypeScript scripts. GitHub CLI and Graphite are optional and only matter for workflows that call them.
Codex desktop: Open the Plugins Directory, choose Add Marketplace → Add from a repository, enter https://github.com/chiewoscar/pstack-codex, then install pstack for Codex.
CLI: Run these as two separate commands:
codex plugin marketplace add chiewoscar/pstack-codex
codex plugin add pstack-codex@pstack-codex
You can also download the source ZIP from GitHub. After extracting it, run codex plugin marketplace add . from the extracted repository root, then codex plugin add pstack-codex@pstack-codex. Downloading alone does not activate a Codex plugin.
Start a new Codex task after installation so its skills are discovered. If the marketplace is not visible in the desktop app, restart it. To update a CLI installation after a release, run codex plugin marketplace upgrade pstack-codex and install again.
First use
In a Codex task, invoke a skill by name:
$pstack-codex:setup-pstack
$pstack-codex:how Explain the payment flow in this repository.
$pstack-codex:interrogate Review my current diff.
$pstack-codex:poteto-mode Fix this bug, prove the behavior, and prepare a reviewable PR.
setup-pstack checks installation and optional tools; it does not change global instructions or install Bun. Most skills work on their own. poteto-mode routes larger tasks through its playbooks. Repository instructions and user approvals still govern pushing, merging, deploying, and cloud work.
| Need | Skill |
|---|---|
| Understand a subsystem or its history | how, why, teach, recall |
| Design or parallelize a change | architect, arena, swarm, poteto-mode |
| Challenge a diff and clean code or prose | interrogate, blast-radius, deslop, no-comments, unslop |
| Prove app behavior and record decisions | create-verification-skill, maintain-verification-skill, show-me-your-work |
What this port adds and keeps
- From pstack: the engineering workflow, role lenses, 23 principles, 23 playbooks, and original icon. Two principles were added from the upstream snapshot reviewed on 2026-09-23.
- From cstack: expanded review and orchestration wording, vendored
deslop, verification skill workflows, decision logs, and supporting scripts. The upstream authors remain credited. - For Codex: a portable manifest plus Codex presentation metadata, namespaced skill calls, a shared runtime mapping, host-aware subagent instructions, and explicit local CLI/worktree/Cloud routes where their preconditions hold.
- Excluded:
cstack-bennyand its Slack triggers, scheduled issue triage, and reproduction automation. The upstreammake-bot-uiskill depends on Cursor's Grok Bot routine and secret-request APIs, so it is not packaged as a working Codex skill. Investigation skills may still use chat history as an optional evidence source; they do not install Slack.
Differences from original agent behavior
| Original intent or parameter | Codex route | Limit |
|---|---|---|
subagent_type such as poteto-agent, Explore, or comment-sicko | Put role instructions in a brief to the current host's child-agent tool. | These are prompt roles, not registered Codex agent types or enforced permissions. |
run_in_background | Spawn, keep working, then wait on the returned handle; independent CLI or Cloud tasks have their own IDs. | No equivalent field on the tested Codex child-agent schema; no automatic overnight scheduler. |
readonly / Explore | An independent codex exec -s read-only session, where supported. | A same-task child is not read-only by parameter. External MCP writes need separate controls. A Windows CLI write-mode trial hit an ACL startup error. |
isolation, environment: "cloud", cloud_base_branch | A separately configured codex cloud exec --env ... --branch ... task with a pushed ref. | This is a separate task, not a child-agent option. Cloud creation was not tested end to end for the trial repository because no environment ID was available. |
| Git worktree isolation | A separate checkout for each writer, or supported codex exec --worktree. | A worktree separates Git state, but workers can still read sibling paths and may share credentials. |
| Cross-vendor model panel | Distinct reviewer prompts and, if supported, Codex model overrides. | It does not recreate pstack's independent model vendors. |
The package preserves workflow intent, not parameter-by-parameter equivalence or a security boundary between same-task children. It cannot promise the original pstack environment behavior on every Codex host. If strict read or execution isolation is required, verify a sandbox or separately provisioned Cloud environment first.
Validation and status
The original 45 skills passed targeted validation and bounded activation checks. The two added principles passed targeted structure validation; they have not been separately exercised end to end. Real Codex subagents, asynchronous completion, worktree separation, and two draft PR workflows were exercised on the earlier candidate. The refreshed playbook text has not had another full PR trial. See the test report and execution parity report for evidence and limits.
Source and license
The cstack source snapshot used for this port is b7e1933fa7485bb9bf937922862a7fc1fa43b738. We reviewed original pstack through b0b9c7a0baf8b6aa1d00bf77d4101e577d4ba411 (v0.15.4) and selectively ported applicable guidance. This is not a byte-for-byte or complete upstream sync; see the upstream adaptation record. backnotprop/pstack is a separate cross-agent mirror; this package focuses on Codex-native plugin installation and tested runtime mapping. pstack and cstack carry Lauren Tan's MIT notice; the included deslop material comes from Cursor Team Kit and retains Cursor's MIT notice. See NOTICE.md and the bundled license files. This adaptation is independent of those projects.